Talent management strategies for generation y and competitive advantage of commercial banks in Kenya

Abstract

An organisation’s focus is to provide best quality at the lowest cost using its top talent which makes the difference between success and failure. They are therefore required to identify the impact of the values and work preferences of the young generation of workers in order to employ, develop, retain and prepare staff for future leadership. Talent Management strategies such as Human Resource Planning, Human Resource Procurement, Human Resource Retention and Human Resource Development are vital to enable the organization retain the talents required to gain a competitive advantage. The theory of the Resource-Based View (RBV) points out that a firm gains competitive advantage through a combination of its unique resources, competencies and capabilities. The study on talent management strategies for generation Y and the competitive advantage of commercial banks in Kenya sought to understand if leveraging on their talents puts the bank in a better competitive position. The research objectives were to establish the relationship between talent management strategies namely; human resource planning, human resource procurement, human resource development and human resource retention as applied to generation Y employees, with competitive advantage of the commercial banks in Kenya. The other objective was to determine whether introduction of the mediating variable of human resource capability had any effect on the relationship between talent management strategies for generation Y and the bank’s competitive advantage. To achieve these objectives, the study employed descriptive survey research design to gain evidence with regards to the present status of the phenomena. The target population of the study comprised of 43 Commercial Banks in Kenya and the given unit of observation was the departments in each bank. The study identified six departments in every bank namely human resources, finance, marketing, credit, treasury and Audit. Primary data was collected through a semi-structured questionnaire and the method of administration was drop-and-pick later. Quantitative data was collected and analysed using inferential and descriptive statistics. The results of the findings were presented in tables. The study also analysed qualitative data on the basis of common themes and presented it in narrative forms. With the analysis of the data collected on all the variables and the testing of hypotheses, the study revealed that Talent Management Strategies contributed a fairly good extent to competitive advantage of Commercial Banks in Kenya with a percentage level of 55.3% (Ṝ2 = .553). An inclusion of a mediating variable of HR Capability to determine its relationship with the Competitive Advantage of the Commercial Banks presented a percentage level of 39.8% (Ṝ2 = .398). The study went further to determine whether the mediating variable of HR Capability had any effect on the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. Multiple regression models were used to predict the relationship which proved to be true with a positive percentage of 55.8% (Ṝ2=0.558), an increase in the value of Ṝ2 by 0.005. This indicates that the mediating variable has a statistically significant effect on the relationship between talent management strategies and the competitive advantage, hence concluding that HR Capability derived from application of talent management strategies has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between talent management strategies for generation Y and competitive advantage of commercial banks in Kenya. Thus the study notes that the strength of the relationship between talent management strategies generation Y depends on the level of HR Capability arising from the strategies. The study recommends that Commercial Banks in Kenya could consider Talent Management Strategies for Generation Y when making organisational policies. They could also embrace best HR practices that contribute to the management of human capital in order for them to realise a competitive Advantage.